My first visit to California in the late ’80s was part of an ill-fated love connection. While I did find elements of the “Endless Summer,” “California Girls” and “California Dreamin’” that I had come to expect from listening to the Beach Boys for years, I found San Francisco to be cold (it was fall), expensive, and largely uninviting. As San Fran was my mother’s favorite city, it would take several return trips for me to better appreciate it. But that same voyage and a prospective early return caused me to take a side trip to San Diego, which back then struck me as much closer to paradise.

The Gas Lamp District in San Diego continues to offer entertainment and architectural choices aplenty, and I will return to the Moxy Hotel and the Gas Lamp Fish House nearby, and while San Diego’s local government leaders struggle with many of the same challenges facing the rest of the state, they are doing a much better job with the litter, smells and crime in part associated with a swelling challenge of homelessness here in California.

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Bill Crane is a syndicated columnist based in Decatur. He has worked in politics for Democrats and Republicans, respects the process and will try and give you some things to think about. Your thoughts and responses to his opinions are also welcome, bill.csicrane@gmail.com.

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